Comparing Timelines
Exploring the overlapping histories of "Roman Empire" and "Islamic Golden Age".
Roman Empire
-100 - 1453
Islamic Golden Age
750 - 1350
100 BCE
Roman Expansion Beyond Italy
By 100 BC, Rome had expanded its rule from the Italian peninsula to most of the Mediterranean and beyond. This marked the transformation of Rome from a regional power to a Mediterranean empire, setting the stage for future imperial developments.
44 BCE
Assassination of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar was assassinated by a faction that opposed his concentration of power after briefly serving as perpetual dictator. This event triggered a series of civil wars that would ultimately lead to the end of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Empire.
42 BCE
Battle of Philippi
Mark Antony and Caesar's adopted son Octavian defeated the faction that had assassinated Julius Caesar at the Battle of Philippi. This victory eliminated Caesar's assassins and set up the eventual conflict between Antony and Octavian for control of Rome.
31 BCE
Battle of Actium
Octavian's forces defeated those of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium, ending the last civil war of the Roman Republic. This decisive naval battle made Octavian the sole ruler of Rome and paved the way for the establishment of the Roman Empire.
27 BCE
Augustus Becomes First Roman Emperor
The Roman Senate granted Octavian the title Augustus and made him princeps with proconsular imperium, marking his accession as the first Roman emperor. This event officially began the Principate and transformed Rome from a republic to an empire.
9 CE
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
Germanic tribes wiped out three Roman legions in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, dealing a devastating blow to Roman expansion in Germania. This defeat led to the increase of legions from 25 to around 30 and marked the effective end of Roman attempts to conquer Germany.
69 CE
End of Julio-Claudian Dynasty
The Julio-Claudian dynasty ended after four emperors following Augustus—Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero—yielding to the strife-torn Year of the Four Emperors. This period of instability demonstrated the fragility of imperial succession and led to the rise of the Flavian dynasty.
70 CE
Siege of Jerusalem and Destruction of Second Temple
The siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD led to the sacking of the Second Temple and the dispersal of Jewish political power. This event marked a crucial turning point in Jewish history and the beginning of the Jewish diaspora.
129 CE
Hadrian Refounds Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina
Emperor Hadrian visited Judaea and refounded Jerusalem as the Roman colony Aelia Capitolina, overlaying the destroyed Jewish city with a new Roman urban plan. This included construction of a Temple to Jupiter on the site of the former Jewish Temple, which helped spark the Bar Kokhba Revolt.
132 CE
Bar Kokhba Revolt
The Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–135 CE) was sparked by Hadrian's measures and restrictions on Jewish practices. After crushing the uprising, Roman forces expelled most Jews from Jerusalem and rebuilt the city as a statement of imperial power and domination.
180 CE
Accession of Commodus
The accession of Commodus in 180 marked what contemporary historian Cassius Dio called the descent 'from a kingdom of gold to one of rust and iron.' This event is considered by some historians as the beginning of the Empire's decline, ending the period of the 'Five Good Emperors.'
212 CE
Constitutio Antoniniana - Universal Citizenship
During the reign of Caracalla, Roman citizenship was granted to all freeborn inhabitants of the empire through the Constitutio Antoniniana. This legal egalitarianism required a far-reaching revision of existing laws and fundamentally changed the nature of Roman identity.
235 CE
Crisis of the Third Century Begins
The Empire was engulfed by the Crisis of the Third Century, a 49-year period of invasions, civil strife, economic disorder, and plague that threatened its existence. The Gallic and Palmyrene empires broke away from the state during this tumultuous period.
270 CE
Aurelian Reunifies the Empire
Emperor Aurelian stabilized the empire militarily and reunified it after the Crisis of the Third Century. His successful campaigns restored imperial unity and ended the breakaway Gallic and Palmyrene empires.
285 CE
Diocletian's Reforms and Tetrarchy
Diocletian reorganized and restored much of the empire in 285, dividing it into four regions each ruled by a separate tetrarch. His reign brought the empire's most concerted effort against Christianity, known as the 'Great Persecution.'
303 CE
Great Persecution of Christians
Diocletian undertook the most severe persecution of Christians from 303 to 311, representing the empire's most concerted effort against the perceived threat of Christianity. This was the last and most systematic attempt to eliminate Christianity from the Roman Empire.
312 CE
Constantine Becomes First Christian Emperor
Constantine the Great became the first emperor to convert to Christianity, fundamentally changing the relationship between the Roman state and Christianity. His conversion marked the beginning of Christianity's transformation from a persecuted religion to the dominant faith of the empire.
330 CE
Foundation of Constantinople
Constantine the Great moved the imperial seat from Rome to Byzantium in 330 and renamed it Constantinople. This established a new capital in the East that would become the center of the Byzantine Empire and survive for over a thousand years.
395 CE
Death of Theodosius I - Final Division
Theodosius I, the last emperor to rule over both East and West, died in 395 after making Christianity the state religion. His death marked the permanent division of the empire into Eastern and Western halves, each with its own emperor.
476 CE
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Romulus Augustulus was forced to abdicate to the Germanic warlord Odoacer, marking the end of the Western Roman Empire. Odoacer declared Zeno sole emperor and placed himself as Zeno's nominal subordinate, effectively ending Western imperial rule.
750 CE
Beginning of the Abbasid Dynasty
The Abbasid dynasty came to power, marking the beginning of what many consider the Islamic Golden Age. This period saw the establishment of organized scholarship and the flourishing of science and culture under caliphal patronage.
762 CE
Capital Moved to Baghdad
The Abbasid capital was moved to Baghdad, which became the world's largest city at the time. This relocation facilitated the gathering of scholars from across the Muslim world and the translation of classical knowledge into Arabic and Persian.
786 CE
Reign of Harun al-Rashid Begins
The reign of Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid began, traditionally marking the start of the Islamic Golden Age. His reign saw the inauguration of the House of Wisdom and unprecedented cultural and scientific flourishing.
805 CE
First Islamic Hospital Built in Baghdad
The earliest known Islamic hospital was built in Baghdad by order of Harun Al-Rashid. This marked the beginning of systematic medical care and hospital administration in the Islamic world.
809 CE
End of Harun al-Rashid's Reign
The reign of Harun al-Rashid ended, marking the conclusion of what many consider the peak period of early Islamic Golden Age prosperity and cultural achievement.
825 CE
House of Wisdom Established
The House of Wisdom was established in Baghdad by Caliph al-Mansur, modeled after the academy of Jundishapur. It became the premier center for translation and scholarship, where scholars translated Greek, Persian, and Sanskrit works into Arabic.
833 CE
Death of al-Ma'mun
The death of Caliph al-Ma'mun marked the beginning of territorial losses and political decline that would gradually weaken the Islamic empire, according to some historians marking the beginning of the end of the golden age.
847 CE
Great Mosque of Samarra Completed
The Great Mosque of Samarra in Iraq was completed, featuring innovative hypostyle architecture with rows of columns supporting a flat base and a huge spiralling minaret, representing architectural achievements of the period.
859 CE
University of Al Karaouine Founded
The University of Al Karaouine was founded in Fez, Morocco. It is listed in The Guinness Book of Records as the world's oldest degree-granting university, representing the institutionalization of higher learning in the Islamic world.
927 CE
Nastulus Creates Earliest Known Astrolabe
The earliest known astrolabe in existence today was made by Nastulus, representing the sophisticated astronomical instruments developed during the Islamic Golden Age for navigation and timekeeping.
964 CE
Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi Describes Andromeda Galaxy
Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi described a 'nebulous spot' in the Andromeda constellation in his Book of Fixed Stars, providing the first definitive reference to what is now known as the Andromeda Galaxy.
978 CE
Al-Azhar Mosque Instruction Begins
Organized instruction began in the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, which became one of the most important centers of Islamic learning and is now recognized as a university, representing the institutionalization of religious and secular education.
982 CE
Important Baghdad Hospital Established
The most important of Baghdad's hospitals was established by the Buyid ruler 'Adud al-Dawla, representing the advancement of medical care and hospital administration during the Islamic Golden Age.
1070 CE
Omar Khayyam's Treatise on Algebra
Persian mathematician Omar Khayyam completed his 'Treatise on Demonstrations of Problems of Algebra', which was a significant step in the development of algebra and part of the body of Persian mathematics eventually transmitted to Europe.
1154 CE
Al-Idrisi Creates World Atlas
Muhammad al-Idrisi created the Tabula Rogeriana, considered the best maps of the Middle Ages. These maps were later used by explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama for their voyages to America and India.
1258 CE
Mongol Siege of Baghdad
The Mongol siege of Baghdad resulted in the destruction of the city and the House of Wisdom, traditionally marking the end of the Islamic Golden Age. This event devastated the center of Islamic learning and scholarship.
1350 CE
Ibn al-Shatir's Astronomical Model
Ibn al-Shatir, working in Damascus, employed the Tusi-couple to successfully eliminate the equant and other objectionable circles from Ptolemaic astronomy, creating a mathematically sound celestial model that influenced later European astronomy.
1453 CE
Fall of Constantinople
The Eastern Roman Empire, called the Byzantine Empire by later historians, continued until Constantine XI Palaiologos died in battle in 1453 against Mehmed II and his Ottoman forces during the siege of Constantinople. This marked the final end of the Roman Empire after over 1,400 years.